Aiyana insisted on putting on some Christmas music before they could eat. Tia guessed Seth wasn’t excited about it, but his mother came up behind where he was seated at the table and dropped a kiss on his cheek as if to ask him to indulge her. And he briefly covered the hand that rested on his shoulder with his, as if he’d give her anything. Tia loved witnessing that exchange—and wished she had as caring a relationship with her mother as he had with Aiyana.

Seth caught her watching them, so she focused on passing the syrup Aiyana had placed closest to her.

“Seth tells us you’re babysitting a parrot,” Emery said. “What’s that like?”

Tia accepted the eggs Seth was handing to her and scooped a small amount onto her plate. “It’s kind of fun. Kiki’s not only beautiful, she’s incredibly smart.”

“Can she say anything?”

“I’ve heard a few phrases. She says pretty girl quite a bit. Then there’s Shh, be quiet. And she barks like a dog.”

Gavin laughed. “I heard her the other night.”

“Drives me nuts,” Seth grumbled, and they all laughed.

“That would be annoying,” Dallas allowed.

“Apparently she’s not partial to humans,” Tia said. “She’s willing to learn from any species.”

“What made Maxi want to get a parrot?” Emery asked. “Do you know?”

“He told me he has a friend in South America who has one,” Tia replied. “He loved it so much he decided to build an atrium so he could get one for himself.”

“I heard caged birds can get lonely and depressed and start pulling out their feathers,” Dallas said.

Emery nudged her husband. “Spoken like a man who prizes his freedom above all else.”

“I don’t love it more than you, honey,” he said with an exaggerated wink, but Tia could tell what he said was true, which made her feel as warm and happy as when she’d witnessed the interaction between Seth and Aiyana. She’d been so consumed with her career and achieving her dreams. Maybe there were still enough good things left to her in life that she could be happy herself.

“Kiki has it pretty good,” she told them. “The atrium is huge and always the perfect temperature. And I got the impression Maxi spends a lot of time with her. That’s why he wanted someone there while he was gone—not just to feed her but to play with her.”

“It must be cool getting to know such an exotic bird,” Gavin said.

Aiyana took a seat at the head of the table. “I’m not surprised she’s thriving. Maxi never does anything halfway.”

“What do you do for a living?” Tia asked Dallas, intrigued by Emery’s earlier reference to her husband loving his freedom.

“Dallas is a professional rock climber,” Gavin piped up. “He has a sponsor and everything.”